Category Archives: Health

Tuesday evening brings with it the follow-up to the community forum held late last month about recent changes to Jefferson County’s healthcare system and how they are affecting the area’s poorest residents.

The second gathering, “Abject Failure: Part 2: Finding Solutions to Fix Our Broken Indigent Healthcare System” is being held in the Richard Arrington Auditorium on the fourth floor of the Linn-Henley Research building located across the street from the central branch of the Birmingham Public Library downtown. It’s scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. The forum follows comments made by UAB School of Public Health dean Dr. Max Michael to the Over the Mountain Democrats earlier this month; he called the current situation “a horror story” worthy of a Stephen King novel.

Dr. Gregory Ayers will once again be present, this time filling attendees in on what efforts are being undertaken by area primary care providers in light of the changes made to the county healthcare system.

This community forum is sponsored by The Cochran Firm. This site is serving as a host for the event in addition to Birmingham View Magazine; Weld for Birmingham; Urbanham.com; What’s Happening Birmingham; the Metro Birmingham Branch of the NAACP; the Public Health Network; the Social Concerns Committee of Noble Chapel CME Church; and the Committee to Protect the Homeless.

There is still a great deal of concern about how Jefferson County’s poorest citizens access and receive healthcare, especially as folks continue to navigate changes made at what is now Cooper Green Mercy Health Services after December 31, 2012. The changes have left the county with an urgent care system labeled by some, including the Jefferson County Medical Society, as an “abject failure” since the beginning of the year.

Dr. Gregory Ayers, the society’s president-elect of the Society and one of the signers of the organization’s statement, and Dr. Mark Wilson, head of the Jefferson County Department of Health, will speak at a community forum on Tuesday evening, May 21, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Five Points West Public Library (directions), located across from the Birmingham CrossPlex. In addition to talking about the organization’s public written statement, Dr. Ayers will also be discussing proposals to fix the new system.

We are aware of the fact that all members of the Jefferson County Commission and county manager Tony Petelos have also been invited to attend Tuesday evening’s forum.

Folks driving into downtown Birmingham along 22nd Street this morning probably noticed a new blue sign or two looking at them as they approached 5th Avenue N. They may have also noticed a lot of folks standing at the corner of 22nd St. and 4th Avenue N., catty-corner from the home of The Birmingham News and AL.com.

Once you saw the buses pulling up – and did a little digging online – it all started to make sense. As of today, all veterans and visitors utilizing the Birmingham, AL Veterans Medical Center located at 700 19th St. South will need to park on the city’s north side and take shuttles to the facility. There is no cost for them to park in the deck according the VA’s website.

During the interview, Sharpton promises Sewell and Bowman that he’ll be making an effort to visit Birmingham and help rally behind efforts to save Cooper Green. He promised his radio audience he would be announcing a date in the near future in addition to bringing up the issue on his television show on MSNBC (which celebrated a year on the air back in August).

Jones Valley Urban Farm was re-introduced late last week to members of its email list and visitors to its website as Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

The new name also introduces a new logo to the community – the second such change in recent years for the nationally-acclaimed Northside institution. The note from the organization points out something that few would argue:

…while many people know us for our delicious produce, many don’t know that it’s not the primary function of our organization. Since its inception, our mission has been to empower future generations with an education to eat smarter, think healthier—and live better.

They pointed out that the name change didn’t mean they’d be changing what they were already doing, though they did mention a return of the on-site farm stand and the coming fundraising campaign to help fund new efforts focused on education.

The report points out that metro Birmingham, although ranking 47th out of 50 areas examined in this study, contains more farmers markets and more park units per capita than the other cities though most of it sits outside of the urban areas.

Attendees will receive free abbreviated training courses on hands-only CPR, the treatment of shock and how to treat wounds (classes normally valued at at least $25). According to the page created for the event, the recent events in Arizona “reminded the nation of the importance of being prepared in the event of an emergency,” particularly in the area of first-aid training.

This will give many their first opportunity to visit the local chapter’s new headquarters (114 22nd Street South).